In His Eyes
by ChoCedric
Summary: The first thing Cho noticed about Cedric was the fact that his warm, gray eyes were so vibrant and expressive. And even years later, they are the thing she remembers the most about him. She knew his every emotion; it was always in his eyes.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: Before I start this fic, I'd like to tell all you readers something I don't think I've mentioned in many of my fics before, but I found it appropriate to mention it in this one. I'm totally blind and have been my entire life. So I've never really understood the whole "the look in your eyes" thing and the whole concept of eye contact, but many tell me I have a wild imagination.

When I read Goblet of Fire for the first time back in 2000 and read the passage where Rowling is describing the empty, lifeless look in Cedric Diggory's gray eyes after he was killed, it totally tore me apart. I was dating my first truly serious boyfriend at the time (he was blind too), and even though we'd never looked into each other's eyes when proclaiming we loved each other, I had heard so many songs and read so many stories about the whole "the love in your eyes" thing that my imagination ran wild. Even though I know it's just a book, that it's not real, that Cedric and Cho aren't real people, I always imagined her looking into Cedric's eyes when he arrived back with Harry after the graveyard. That image has given me nightmares for years. YEARS!

So I figured I'd write a little story focusing on just that aspect of their relationship. If you listen to Whitney Houston sing "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful" with Jermaine Jackson, you'll be sure to find this even more tragic. I certainly did.

In His Eyes

By: ChoCedric

The first time Cedric Diggory ever truly talked to Cho Chang was on the Quidditch pitch in the fall of the year of the Triwizard Tournament, and the first thing Cho noticed about him were his warm, sparkling gray eyes. They were so expressive, and when she looked into them, his emotions showed like an open book. Even if the rest of his face was guarded, you could always see how he was feeling; it was in his eyes.

After that first September day, Cho and Cedric began to see each other more and more. They had long talks on the Quidditch pitch while hovering in the air, and over time, their friendship became extremely intense. As September turned into October and October into November, their bond grew deeper still.

Cho remembers that her friends used to tease her, mischievous smiles playing on their faces. "Are you in LURRRRVE with Cedric Diggory, of all people? You're in LURRRRRVE with the school heartthrob?" they'd tease. Cho would deny it, but she knew she could only keep it up for so long. For Cedric, at seventeen years old, showed her that certain feelings existed that she'd never felt before. And his eyes ... his soft, warm gray eyes ... whenever they looked at Cho, she swore he felt the same way, although she didn't want to get ahead of herself.

However, everything changed at the Yule Ball. As she whispered, "You're my champion," in his ear as they danced their first slow song of the night, his face broke into the most radiant smile, and his eyes sparkled like never before. After the song was over, he brought her out to the rose garden, where he confessed his feelings. As he told her he was in love with her, his eyes were the most gentle she had ever seen them. As she looked at him with happy tears swimming in her own eyes, she confessed the same, and then, slowly, softly, sweetly, they kissed. Needless to say, it was the happiest and safest she had ever felt in her life.

As the months passed and the pressure mounted, Cedric tried to be brave and strong for what was to come. But Cho knew - she always knew - that he was often afraid and vulnerable. Though he kept a tough facade on the outside, his eyes gave it away.

On the night of the third task, just before Cedric was about to go into the maze, he and Cho shared a private moment. As she stared into his eyes, she could see the roil of emotions churning within - fear, worry, dread ... but above all, love. And that love ... Cho could barely believe it even after six months of this ... it was for her, HER! Tiny, insignificant Cho Chang.

To this day, she can still remember his last words to her as his gray eyes shone with an intensity that outmatched any she had ever seen. "I love you, Cho," he had whispered as he leaned close to her, breathing in her scent as though he would never smell it again. "Mr. Bagman ... Mr. Bagman just said that people can change in that maze. But I'm going to go in there, and I'm going to win for you ... for us. And no matter what happens ... please remember that I'll always love you."

And then their lips had met, and the kiss was soft and sweet, just like on that first night they'd revealed their feelings for each other. Cho couldn't explain why at the time, but as she watched him walk away, a few tears slipped down her face. She'll never forget the look in his eyes at that moment.

And even though she knew in her heart that something was coming, nothing could have prepared her for what happened as the night ended. As soon as she saw Harry Potter clutching the Triwizard Cup in one hand and her love in the other, she knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. Even before the screams and sobs erupted from the pitch, and the horrible truth was confirmed over and over again, screeched and hollered into the night, she knew, because once again, it was his eyes that gave it away.

The eyes that had looked at her with the deepest, truest love just two hours ago, now contained nothing at all. All they were now were blank. And at that moment Cho swore her heart stopped beating. As she violently pushed people out of her way and ran to the side of the boy who had given her her first kiss, who had shown her what being in love truly felt like, she could hear someone screaming, screaming in pure, utter agony. What she failed to realize was that it was she who was doing the screaming.

And it's his eyes that she'll always remember most about that moment - not that his hand was ice cold, or that other people were screaming his name too, or that ... Merlin ... he was so, so stiff, as if there had never been a human being inside that shell at all. It was his eyes. His vibrant, expressive eyes, now empty and void of anything at all.

She doesn't remember much else about the next few minutes, hours, days. All she knows is that Roger Davies was the one to carry her away from Cedric's body. All she knows is that she attended the funeral and screamed a high, keening wail as they lowered his beautiful body six feet below the ground. And all she knows is that no matter how long she lives, no matter the years that go by, that image will always haunt her: the image of the eyes of the only boy that will ever completely hold her heart.


End file.
